


Twist of Fate

by HufflepuffChildOfApollo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 2000s, 90's Music, Astoria Greengrass in the Muggle World, Autumn, BAMF Astoria Greengrass, Because this is now a road trip fic, Death, Department of Mysteries, Draco Malfoy in the Muggle World, Early 2000s Music, F/M, Like We're Talking First Album Here, Meaning Mostly Britney Spears, Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter), Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Really Old Taylor, Road Trips, Roses, She is the Only 90s Singer I Really Know, Slow Build, The Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter) is Terrible, Vague Mentions of Taylor Swift, You're Welcome, but like, you know?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-08-20 12:15:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20227693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HufflepuffChildOfApollo/pseuds/HufflepuffChildOfApollo
Summary: Astoria Greengrass paid the price for assisting the Dark Lord, and now must live as a Muggle for the rest of her life.So she assimilates. She turns in her wand, her broom, everything but the clothes on her back, and goes to Muggle London.And there she stays, alone with her cats and her thoughts, until a new neighbor across the street draws her eye — a neighbor with an uncanny resemblance to her old schoolmate.Meanwhile, rumors of mysterious disappearances make their way to Astoria through her sister's letters. Familiar names, classmates, friends and enemies of Astoria's — all missing. The one connection seems to be the Department of Mysteries — where Astoria's sister Daphne just started working.Astoria must now work to solve the mystery — with an unlikely helper — before her sister is next.





	1. Chapter 1

October 28, 2006

Astoria sighed, standing at the edge of the cliff. Far below, on the jagged rocks lay a crashed car, the ocean waves crashing over it. What once was a wooden fence lay in front of Astoria, broken into pieces. She sighed, picking up a newspaper clipping from the picnic table she'd laid it on and reading it.

_'October 5th, 2006_

_Authorities found an automobile crashed off Blue Light Cliff early this morning. _ _No survivors were found, but two bodies were recovered from the wreck. Authorities suspect the_ _ cause(s) of the accident were a broken steering mechanism and/or distracted operators. The bodies remain unidentified. '_

She folded the clipping, looking up at the cloudy, dark sky. She didn't dare read the last line, though she knew what it said. And what it meant.

_ 'Also found in the automobile were two wooden brooms of old-fashioned design. Curiously, both brooms had attachments similar to stirrups or, perhaps, paired bicycle kick-stands.'_

She turned, walking down the dirt path away from the cliff. The tall grass to either side brushed her hands as she went by. Her dress snagged on bushes as she walked. She sighed, tugging them free and walking back to her car, where she sat in silence until it started to rain. She closed her eyes, turning the ignition, and drove away, an old song warbling from the car's broken speakers.

It was eight years today since she had been banished from the Wizarding world. Cast out for assisting the Dark Lord Voldemort. She'd only been fifteen at the time, and hadn't even taken the Mark, but her father owed many of the Wizengamot members money. A lot of money. And since he was out of the country, she had to atone for his mistakes. 

So here she was. Following Muggle newspaper clippings just to get any hint that there was still magic in the world. Listening to ancient tapes on a busted radio cassette player. Growing herbs knowing she'd never use them for anything other than seasoning, when they could be used for curing dragon pox. 

She sighed, looking at the pile of books in the passenger seat; lists upon lists of addresses. She'd taken up writing as a hobby, but she sometimes needed inspiration. Newspapers and elderly residents of her small town were often her go-to sources; but today she wasn't eager for human interaction. 

But then there was Daphne's letter to read — Astoria wasn't permitted to use owl post except for once every month, so she'd write down the goings-on for the whole month, then at the end of every month would send a single, long letter to her sister, who would in turn do the same the next day. Sometimes letters were short, but occasionally they were long enough to require a bookmark or multiple envelopes; these were Astoria's favorites. Just the thought that she'd received one today filled her with glee, and she hurried home, taking a shortcut through the wooded path instead of the main road. She noticed a car pulled in front of the empty house across the street from her. She

_Someone must be moving in, _she thought. _Rich, from the look of that car._

She pulled off her raincoat, tossing it aside as she walked through the door, and rushed to the kitchen, not bothering about the mud being tracked through the house. She'd clean it up later. 

She sat at the kitchen table, picking up and opening the envelope that laid on the table, marked '1'. 

_'Dear Astoria. _

_How are you doing? Have you been sleeping enough? In your last letter you said the neighbors were being loud; have they calmed down at all?'_

Astoria smiled; it was just like Daphne to inquire about her health the first thing. Her neighbors had, in fact, quieted down in recent weeks. 

'_I finally started my new job at the Ministry last week. I can't really tell you what I'm doing (Department of Mysteries, you understand) but I can tell you that we're doing big things. BIG big things. When it all comes out, I'll see if I can send you the news clipping.'_

_As if, _Astoria thought, rolling her eyes. The Ministry would never allow her, effectively a Muggle, to have such a valuable piece of Wizarding information. 

_'Is your rose garden doing well? I hope the climbing roses I sent didn't die. They bloom so pretty in late fall — soon, actually.'_

The roses were, in fact, in bloom — they were quite a contrast, pale pink against the autumn leaves. Astoria had planted them by the trellis over her driveway and they'd already covered it. 

_'So, have you met any cute Muggle guys?' _Astoria paused reading to roll her eyes. Daphne asked the same question every month, always receiving a firm 'no' for an answer. 

_'I've got a friend in the Department whose brother is about your age, and he doesn't live far away from you. He's quite handsome.'_

_Of course. _As usual, Daphne was trying to set her up with someone she'd never met. Astoria would just pretend she hadn't read that part. Daphne could take a hint. Usually.

_'What sort of weather are you having?_

_Never mind, stupid question. Same as here, probably.'_

Astoria chuckled at that. For the first few months, Daphne had always asked that until Astoria had explained that the Muggle world's weather was the same as the Wizarding world. 

_'Let me know what__ you think of the Muggle music disk I sent. It only came out 4 days ago. I didn't like it much when I listened, but I figured you might like it.' _Said 'music disk' was still in the large envelope. Astoria took it out, looking at the back. Some American singer, from the look of it. The cover art was pretty. She'd have to listen to that later. 

_'I'm out of space on this parchment, so I've included another envelope. If it's not here, write back and I'll have it found and sent as soon as possible.'_

Astoria smiled, folding up the parchment and reaching for the second envelope. She slit it open, pulling out the parchment. 

Before she could read it, her doorbell rang. She dropped the letter, running to the front door. _Probably Mrs. Jacobs with the cat again, _She thought as she opened the door. She was half-right.

"Excuse me, but is this your cat?" the tall, thin young man asked, holding the offending animal out. "It was on my porch."

Astoria nodded, taking the animal from him. "Yes, thank you." The cat made an indignant hiss. "Oh, hush, Expi." 

The young man chuckled. He stepped back, his greenish eyes looking Astoria up and down. "She's rather feisty, isn't she?" 

"Yes," Astoria sighed. "A pain in the ass too." 

The young man smiled, holding out his hand to shake. "I'm Todd. Me and my friend are moving in across the street."

Astoria smiled. "I'm Ast—" 

She stopped herself short. _Muggle name, Muggle name!_

"A-Aster," she said lamely, shaking his hand. He raised a brow. 

"A pretty name for a pretty girl," he said smoothly. Astoria felt her face turn red. 

"Why, thank you, Todd." Astoria smiled. "Well, I won't keep you any longer. Thank you for returning my cat." 

"It's no problem at all." Todd stepped back, running a tanned hand through his dark hair. "I'll see you around, Aster." With that he walked off across the street, disappearing into the house. 

Astoria sighed, closing the door and setting her cat down. "You are in such big trouble, Expelliarmus Rose!"


	2. Chapter 2

Theodore Nott — alias Todd Brooke — walked into his house, grinning. 

"Oi, roommate!" he called, picking up a broom and jabbing the handle against the ceiling. "The little beastie has been returned to its rightful owner!" 

"Stop beating on the ceiling, you idiot!" was the reply from upstairs, and Theodore's grin widened. 

"Quite a pretty thing, too!" 

"The _cat?" _

"No, you numpty! The owner!" Theodore put down the broom, heading up the stairs. He leapt over a box in the middle of the floor and flung open the door to the shared bedroom, bounding across the room and pouncing upon the bed, where his roommate was curled up in a pile of blankets, as he had been since the previous night. A crumpled ball of paper lay on the floor by the wall, as if, in some fit of rage, it had been thrown (this was, in fact, what had transpired that morning when Theodore had woken his roommate with the most obnoxious Muggle song he could find on the radio). All Theodore could see of his roommate was a bare foot at the end of the bed. 

"What do you want?" a muffled, hoarse voice grumbled from somewhere in the blanket pile. A hand disentangled itself from the blankets, feeling around on the bed and grabbing Theodore's arm before traveling up to his face. 

"Oi," he said, leaning back and smacking the hand. "I'm checking on you, you ungrateful little wimp."

"Get off my bed." The hand made a weak shooing motion before the arm it was attached to drew back into the pile of blankets. Theodore glared at the blankets. 

"It's my bed too, and you need to get up! It's past noon." The only reply was a groan, and Theodore sighed in exasperation. 

"Alright, we're doing this the hard way." He rolled up his sleeves, and began stripping the blankets from the bed, ignoring the muffled protests from within the pile. 

"Alright, now out of bed!" he said, having stripped the bed bare except for the fitted sheet. 

"It's too early..." 

"Quit whining, Malfoy." Theodore sat down, snatching a pillow out of reach. Draco Malfoy glared at him, his grey eyes bloodshot, whitish hair curly and disheveled. 

"Rough night?" Theodore asked, raising a brow. Draco groaned, rolling his eyes and laying back down. 

"Leave me alone to die," he moaned, running a hand through his hair. 

"What, still not used to having less than a million thread count on your bed?" Theodore said in mock sympathy. "Having to do actual work and move things around?"

"Shut up, Nott."

"Anyway," Theodore said, stretching. "We haven't got any food in the house, so I'm going to the store. Come with?"

Draco sighed heavily. "Can't." 

"Why not?" Theodore sat up, leaning on the headboard. "You need to get out of the house."

"I haven't been 'out of the house' in three years, Nott. I'd rather not start now."

"All the more reason!" Theodore sighed. "Live a little. I have." 

Draco looked at him, sighing. "I don't know how to."

"Don't be so dramatic, of course you do." Theodore sighed. "Come on. Just a trip to the grocery store. You don't even have to come in, you can wait on the bench outside. The fresh air will do you some good." 

"No it won't. It's too dusty..." he sighed. 

"It's _raining_, Draco! It's more dusty in here!" Theodore crossed his arms. "You don't want to be here _alone_, do you? What if the cat comes back?"

Draco's pale eyes widened.

"Get out, I need to get dressed." 

***

Draco paced back and forth, glancing up at the grey sky from under the roof overhang outside the small local grocery store. Theodore had been inside for nearly half an hour. He sighed, sitting down on the bench beside the entrance. 

_I may as well just stand out in the rain, I'm already soaked, _he thought, sighing. He ran a hand through his wet hair, looking around. The t-shirt he'd borrowed from Nott stuck to his skin uncomfortably from the rain. 

_Why did I come out with Nott anyway?_

A moment later all thoughts of regret (and thoughts in general) vanished as quite possibly the prettiest girl he had ever seen stepped out of a turquoise blue car — the _same one_ that was parked across from Draco and Nott's house — and strode up to the automatic doors, walking in. 

_Bloody hell, _that's _who lives across from us? _he thought_. _

When Nott _finally _came out of the store, carrying what looked like enough cereal to last about a year, Draco inquired about the girl. 

"Do you know anything about our neighbors?" he asked, trying to sound casual. 

"Well, across the road there's a girl around our age. She's pretty good-looking. She's the one with the cat, though."

Draco grimaced. "Annoying felines aside, do you know her name?"

"The _cat's?_"

"No, you idiot! The girl!" Draco glared at him, helping load the groceries into Nott's car. "What's her name?"

"Ohh. The girl's name. It's Aster."

Draco nodded. "Aster..."

"Hey, I already called dibs." Nott smirked, closing the back and climbing in the driver's seat. Draco rolled his eyes, climbing in the passenger's side. 

"You can't call dibs on a human being, Nott," he said. "And besides, I was only curious."

"Sure you were," Nott said with another annoying smirk. He started the car, driving home in silence. 

***

Astoria got home with her groceries, glancing over toward the house across the street as she walked inside. The new neighbors — Todd and his roommate — were carrying in their own groceries. Todd waved to her, and she waved back with her free hand. He then disappeared back into his house, and Astoria went on into hers. 

She put away her groceries before sitting down at the kitchen table, slitting open the second envelope from Daphne. 

_Hey! Told you there'd be another letter. Since I finished writing the first one last night, something happened, and I've got some big, BIG news; I'm engaged! Kevin — you remember Kevin Entwhistle, right? He proposed last night — you know we've been together for a while. We're getting married in February, and I'm so hoping you'll be able to come. It'll be at a Muggle venue, so there won't be any legal problems with it. _

_I'll send you all the details whenever we get it all figured out, and I'll let you know the color theme. I'd so love it if you could be a bridesmaid, and if you agree to, I'll have your dress made along with the others. It'll be so good to see you if you can come. _

Astoria smiled. Her sister, getting married. And she'd _legally _be able to go! 

_In other news, Pansy Parkinson absolutely flipped out the other day — apparently her boyfriend got the same sentence you did, and they had to break up. It didn't sound like he'd been too upset about it. They hadn't actually spoken face-to-face in years, anyway; he'd been on house arrest or something, and most people think his parents probably arranged their whole relationship anyways. _

Astoria nodded. Nobody in their right mind would date Pansy Parkinson willingly. 

_How's your photography thing going? And what about your cooking lessons? Has your poison ivy cleared up yet (who would have guessed that a trip to America would turn out so badly)? _

Astoria grimaced, scratching the back of her neck. The rash had in fact not cleared up yet, to the amazement of her doctor. Evidently magical blood was not compatible with the plant. 

_In other news, have you heard anything about the disappearances lately? I suppose not, it's all Wizarding news. Narcissa Malfoy's been missing around a week now, and Lily Moon (you remember her, right? She was in my year), and a few others. The Ministry haven't actually done much about it, just told everyone to be on the lookout and have caution. It seems rather fishy. _

_I'll write more tomorrow, it's getting late and I'm out of paper. Love you!_

_ Daphne ~ _

Astoria folded up the letter. The news of the disappearances was troubling, and the Ministry doing nothing about it made it even more so. She sighed, shaking her head.

_it's not any of your business to worry about it, _she reminded herself. _You're not a witch anymore, remember?_

She put the letter down, deciding to leave the third envelope for later. She walked outside to check on her garden, and in no time had forgotten all about the troubling news. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Please let me know what you think, and what you think is going to happen, because I have no clue! Thanks, and please leave a kudos if you liked it!


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